This invention relates generally to a safety restraint device adapted to be mounted on a rail of a railway track, and more particularly to such a device comprising a substantially U-shaped hood having a pair of hinged sections supporting upper and lower rail engageable rollers, the hood being assembled in place from opposite sides of the rail.
During construction or repair of a railroad bridge, the railroad bridge men must be provided safe and efficient working conditions without the danger of falling off the bridge. Safety nets could be provided although falling bridge structure parts would only tear the nets defeating the purpose of the safety net for the bridge men before the nets can be repaired. Moreover, stringing up the nets is dangerous in itself for the netting workmen.
A system of safety belts or safety harnesses with suitably long lanyards is probably the safest system for the railroad bridge men. However, this poses a problem in the manner of anchoring the lanyard. One approach would be for the bridge man to attach his lanyard around a rail or a bridge tie or a guard timber prior to each work location or operation. This, however, presents a problem in that the bridge man must unhook and rehook each time he moves. This is not only time consuming but offers no protection for the bridge men while moving from one location to the other.
One approach in avoiding some of these problems would be to secure a cable along the center of the track so that the workman could hook his lanyard thereto. This would provide the workman more mobility, except that installation of the cable is time consuming and would only interfere with the progress of the bridge work. Moreover, the cable would present a tripping hazard, and if one workman fell off the bridge it would likely pull the cable sufficiently to cause others to fall.